Elisha’s Ministry

BY Erin Davis

In Genesis chapter 18, the Lord asked the patriarch Abraham this very important question: “Is anything impossible for the LORD?” (v.14). It was a rhetorical question, of course. I doubt that God was expecting Abraham to somehow calculate and answer Him based on some silly human formula. He was, after all, about to give Abraham a baby at the age of one hundred, and then use Abraham’s family line to birth both a nation and a Savior.

The answer to God’s question was “no,” of course—nothing is impossible for God. The angel Gabriel came right out with it when he told Mary she would become the mother of the world’s Savior (Luke 1:37). And Jesus Himself relayed the same truth in Matthew 19, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (v.26).

A core belief in God’s unlimited power seems to be the backbone of Elisha’s ministry, a steel rod running through His life that allowed him to pray and serve with remarkable conviction, and with good cause. He had seen a number of astonishing miracles: wicked kings dethroned (1 Kings 22:37), armies consumed by fire from heaven (2 Kings 1:10), his mentor, Elijah, carried up into heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), and unhealthy water transformed into clean water with a pinch of salt (2 Kings 2:21–22).

Over and over again, Elisha had a front row seat to the power of God. So when the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom commanded him to bring forth water from a dry ditch, Elisha’s faith was automatic, when he responded, “This is an easy thing in the LORD’s sight” (2 Kings 3:18).

Maybe, like me, you’re tempted to compare notes with Elisha, to explain away weak faith with all you haven’t seen. True, I’ve never seen an army consumed with fire from heaven, and I haven’t watched anyone ride a whirlwind up to heaven. But I’ve seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). I’ve seen Him heal. I’ve felt His comfort. I’ve been transformed by His grace.

When faced with the impossible, I press in to this truth: the greatest indicator of what God will do is what He has already done. He is a God who does not change, the healer who keeps healing, the deliverer who keeps delivering, and our Savior who keeps saving.

Go on. Look around your life. Do you see the dry places where you need God’s Spirit to move? Dare to ask the angel’s question, “Is anything impossible for the Lord?” The answer is in every moment of goodness and mercy He has already shown you. May you pray with renewed confidence knowing that, whatever your need is, it is an easy thing in the Lord’s sight.